Over vocal objections from the public, the Maryland Transportation Authority's board voted yesterday to raise truck tolls at its bridges and tunnels on Interstate 95 and to impose a $1.50-a-month fee on its E-ZPass customers.
The board voted unanimously after hearing comments from Marylanders who turned out for a public meeting near the Key Bridge on the authority's proposed package of revenue increases - designed to make up for a shortfall caused by a drop in traffic that is part of a national decline in driving. About 30 people attended.
Opponents argued that the truck toll increases of 50 percent or more come at a time when many operators are struggling to survive the economic downturn. "It's devastating to our business," said Paul Kelly of the Maryland Motor Truck Association.
Others argued that the E-ZPass fees - and the authority's move to charge $21 for new and replacement transponders - would discourage participation and increase congestion.
State Sen. E. J. Pipkin, a Republican from the Eastern Shore, said the fee would fall hardest on the occasional user who might cross the Bay Bridge only five or six times a year. He said the action goes against the state's policy of urging people to get the passes.
"We've encouraged them to do it. Now we're hitting them with an additional fee," Pipkin said.
Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari, who leads the board, said members had found no acceptable alternative that would raise the money needed to continue the authority's maintenance program. He said the agency had slashed its budget as much as it could before proposing the revenue measures, which are expected to raise about $60 million a year.
Authority officials said they resorted to toll and fee increases only after deferring or eliminating $200 million in capital projects.
"These actions were taken after we made sure the authority had its house in order," Porcari said. "We're doing this very reluctantly and as a last resort."
The decision does not affect the base tolls for passenger vehicles, which have remained unchanged since 2003. Some opponents of the higher tolls said it was unfair to impose steep increases on truckers while sparing the family car.
"To put this entirely on the back of the three-plus axle vehicles is unreasonable," said Rick Rodgerson, logistics chief at GAF Materials Corp. in Baltimore. "The feeling is that you need to spread the pain a little bit more."
